As the site of my first overseas experience, Egypt holds a special place in my heart. Long before the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, I had been a teacher at the St. Mary’s School in Shoubra, a poor Cairo neighborhood.

During one kaleidoscopic summer, I traveled the road from Cairo to Alexandria under a canopy of desert stars, explored the marvels of the Sphinx and Pyramids on the Giza Plateau as well as the tombs of the Valley of the Kings. Every day led to new discoveries in customs, courtesies and culinary delights.

The trip was not without its share of challenges, however. While I avoided vendor-offered homemade-flavored drinks and always kept bottled drinking water in the refrigerator where I lived at the orphanage, I still ended up with daily gastrointestinal problems.

Then late one afternoon I entered the kitchen and spotted one of the girls standing at the sink. She looked at me over her shoulder and flashed a beatific smile. My eyes widened when I saw her holding one of my water bottles under the faucet tap, carefully filling it up to the brim. In her quiet way, she had been taking care of me, her respected teacher, by ensuring that my water bottle was always filled. Oops.

Despite those pesky gastrointestinal problems, exploring the magic of Egypt set the stage for what has become my lifelong love of travel adventures around the world. 5 continents down, two more to go . . .

What about you, wanderboomers? Are you ready to explore the wonders of Egypt?

As a child, Jill Dobbe imagined a life far different from the one she was living in her small Wisconsin town. She dreamt of one filled with travel, excitement and adventure. After graduating with dual degrees in sociology and education, Dobbe set off with her husband Dan and their two children, both under the age of two, to make those dreams come true.

Recently I had the chance to ask Jill about her peripatetic lifestyle and its impact on her family. Here’s an excerpt of our interview:

Tell us about your memoir.

My memoir is not just about traveling with kids, but is also about the cultures we lived in and the crazy, humorous, and sometimes scary adventures that we found ourselves in.

For example?

On our first night in Accra, Ghana, we were taken to our new home in the middle of the night. After unloading all of our suitcases we looked around and found no locks on any of the outside doors and no bars on the windows. My husband stayed awake the whole night walking from one end of the house to the other, while my two kids and I slept in one bed locked inside a bedroom.

You grew up in a small town like I did. What inspired your wanderlust?

I always wanted to travel and I kept the hope alive all through college. I had a friend whose mother taught German at a local high school. I remember her going on a trip to China when her daughter and I were teenagers. She was the only person I knew in our small town who had ever traveled.

When I graduated with my degree in elementary education I started investigating teaching overseas. I married an educator and despite having two very young children, we went to our first overseas hiring fair and were hired as teachers on Guam. That’s where it all began. Our children grew up overseas and our daughter currently teaches with us in Honduras. We all have wanderlust now and our kids continue to travel on their own now that they are adults.

What’s the value of living, working and raising a family abroad?

It is the best education that you can possibly give to your children. Not only do they learn about the world firsthand, but they get to see in real life what their friends back home only see in school textbooks or on T.V. Children can easily become global citizens as they travel and experience the sights of the world. They learn the values of empathy, respect, and tolerance for others more readily, as they witness the importance of greetings, the value placed on extended families, and the importance of education. There is also much less emphasis on material possessions and more emphasis on the quality of life. Living and working abroad gives us all a much better perspective of our world and more opportunities to help others in need.

What has been your hardest adjustment to living and working overseas?

Sixteen years ago when my husband and I began teaching overseas was the most difficult. I remember having to make expensive long distance calls to our U.S. bank from West Africa just to try and sort out our banking issues. Sometimes we ended up unable to hear over fuzzy telephone lines, or getting cut off, or being unable to get through at all. There were absolutely no cell phones or computers then. We were unable to email, Skype, or Facebook with anyone during our first ten years abroad. Snail mail was all we had and it took weeks to get letters/packages from the U.S. Happily, it is a smaller world today with all the technology available. Living overseas is not as traumatic or scary anymore and we can keep in touch so much more easily.

What’s been the most challenging cultural difference you have had to overcome?

Right now I am trying to learn Spanish and that is challenging! We have had to learn the basics of Hindi, Arabic, Twi, and more. Despite working in English speaking schools, we still found that we needed to have a translator when getting our cable hooked up, paying household bills, getting a driver’s license, etc. because the average workers didn’t always speak English.

How would you advise parents to prepare their kids for a move abroad?

Prepare them by talking about where you are moving to. Find it on the map and read books from and about the country that you will be living in. Tell them about the new school they will be attending and find out as much as you can about the extra-curricular activities that they can take part in. Communicate with them as much as possible about the move and find out their concerns and fears about their new lifestyle. Allow them chances to say goodbye to their friends, cousins, grandparents, and classmates. Let them know they will not lose touch and will be able to keep in touch through Skype. Buy them a camera or journal or both to record their experiences while living overseas.

If you had it to do all over again, what would you do differently?

We first moved overseas when our children were only one and two years old. We took chances with their health and safety that when I think about it today, was sort of risky. Waiting until they were at least school age would have been more ideal. They would have experienced and remembered more and would have been more interested and excited in the amazing sights that we saw.

What advice can you offer to others who want to follow in your footsteps?

For teachers who are interested in teaching abroad I tell them that they must be open to everything, interested in other cultures, be able to accept frequent change, and practice patience with all of the inconsistencies. Teaching overseas is not for everyone, but once you try it and get sucked in it is hard to stop going from school to school and country to country. It is a unique lifestyle and one that has many rewards if you can handle the occasional power outages and/or lack of school resources.

I am always interested in speaking with others who want to know more about teaching overseas. It is a great lifestyle and one that I can highly recommend.

Thanks for sharing your travel journey with us, Jill!

Photos courtesy of Jill Dobbe.

Have you ever taught overseas, Wanderboomers? Any future plans to do so? Please share your experiences with us here.

“It doesn’t take much to do good,” claims Joe Staiano, founder of Seattle-based Meaningful Trip. He should know.

At home, Staiano devotes his time to several non-profit organizations: ICO (Inner City Outings) through the Sierra Club, IRC (the International Rescue Committee) and Camp Erin, founded by All-Star major league baseball pitcher, Jaime Moyer and his wife Karen, for children grieving the death of someone close to them.

For 10 years Staiano coordinated overseas tours for REI Adventures to such dream destinations as Ecuador/the Galapagos Islands, Turkey and India. He then spent the next 7 years working in community-based tourism and volunteering his expertise in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Moved to make a difference in the lives of the people he met beyond his own volunteer efforts, Staiano started Meaningful Trip with the goal of giving back to the local communities. Volunteer tourism is a worthy goal, he recognizes, and “the travel and tourism industry can do even more,” starting with his own company.

First, in addition to ensuring the travel expertise of his global partners, Staiano goes further by asking tough questions,such as: “How many women are on your staff?” What are your environmental values?” “What do you do to support your community?”

Second, a portion of each client’s fees, typically 5 – 10%, is donated to women’s empowerment, health, education, and poverty alleviation. His company also supports hunger and anti-trafficking programs in the U.S.

The third leg of Meaningful Trip’s “Triple Give” giving mechanism extends to Staiano’s dream of “building a community that cares” when clients return from their travels. Through meaningful dinner parties and thought-provoking conversations, Staiano encourages people to explore actions that make a difference in their local communities.

“Travel with an open heart and open mind. Meaningful travel and you can change the world,” says Staiano.

Travelers at heart can visit any one of several romantic destinations on Valentine’s Day in the click of an eye through the magic of movies. Cuddle up with or without your sweetie and pass the popcorn and kleenex . . .

An Affair to Remember

An ocean liner headed for New York City sets the stage for this Hollywood classic starring Deborah Kerr (Terry McKay) and Cary Grant (Nicky Ferrante), with Fate and Destiny in key supporting roles. As an added bonus, you can enjoy gorgeous views from the villa on the French Riviera where Nicky’s wise and loving grandmother resides. Most famous line: “If you can paint, I can walk!”

Casablanca

Former lovers meet unexpectedly in French Morocco during World War II when “of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world,” Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) has to walk into his, Rick’s (Humphrey Bogart). The drama includes flashback scenes to happier times when they fell in love in Paris, together with a rousing rendition of the national anthem of France, “La Marseillaise.”

Dr. Zhivago

Omar Sharif (Yuri) and Julie Christie (Lara) are star-crossed lovers in this film set in Russia (though filmed in Canada, Finland and Spain) during the Bolshevik Revolution. Any movie that can romanticize an Ice Palace in the Russian countryside in the middle of winter is worth a viewing.

Lady and the Tramp

In case you think that only we humans hold the monopoly on romance, our canine counterparts will convince you otherwise in this Disney classic. Has there ever been a more heartwarming animated scene than when our main characters discover love at the end of a shared strand of spaghetti at Tony’s (Italian) Restaurant?

Roman Holiday

Audrey Hepburn won an oscar for her performance as Princess Anne who rebels against her royal duties by going undercover as a commoner in Rome for a day. After a memorable chance encounter, reporter Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) soon realizes he has the scoop of the decade – and the love of a lifetime. Location shots include the Spanish Steps, Palazza Colonna, and Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth).

Notorious

Rio de Janeiro takes center stage in Hitchcock’s brilliant tale of espionage, romance and betrayal. Cary Grant stars as Devlin, an American agent, who enlists the aid of Alicia (Ingrid Bergman) to track the Nazi ring operating in Rio after her father is convicted of treason. Love intervenes only to be pushed aside by the dutiful Devlin who throws her into marriage with Alex (Claude Rains), leader of the local Nazis group. Will Devlin find a way to save Alicia and himself by movie’s end? You’ll just have to watch the film to find out.

Sound of Music

“The hills are alive with the sound of music” while romance blooms between Maria, a young postulant at Austria’s Nonnberg Abbey, and Baron von Trapp, a widower engaged to be married. Cupid strikes when their eyes meet as the Baron leads Maria in a dance. Be still my heart . . .

Added Bonus!

I can’t help myself. I have to include one more travel film here:

The English Patient

Though this World War II drama is set in Tuscany and Egypt, several scenes were shot on location in Tunisia for a more realistic portrait of 1940’s Cairo. Viewing Ralph Fiennes in his role as Count Laszlo de Almasy carrying his beloved, white shrouded Katherine (Kristin Scott Thomas) across the windswept desert landscape leaves me mesmerized every time. When he recognizes that she’s wearing the thimble (You have to see the movie), her reply, “Of course, you idiot. I always wear it. I’ve always worn it. I’ve always loved you,” says it all. Sigh . . .

What about you, Wanderboomers? What travel movies would you add to my list for Valentine’s Day?

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Hello fellow wanderboomers! I’m a Seattle-based travel journalist, specializing in fun travel adventures for the young at heart. My articles have been featured in Hemispheres, AAA Highroads Magazine and Northwest Travel & Life Magazine where I'm a frequent contributor. When this Wanderboomer isn’t traveling, I help global executives polish their personal and professional brand for long-term results.